A/N: This chapter will contain a bit more hockey again, but still enough fluff, I hope ;)
Waking up next to Chloe was amazing. Luckily for Beca it wasn't a one time thing. They would end up at Chloe's after most dates, usually cuddling until they fell asleep. Chloe had been doing her best not to take too much initiative and let Beca take the lead, which was hard for her at times. Beca seemed more at ease, though, so it was worth it.
They never announced that they were dating, but somehow all the girls knew after a while and everybody was fine with it, especially since they were both playing amazingly. Beca was top scorer of the team and Chloe was an important factor in midfield. They made sure that every game ended in a victory. With only two more games to go before winter break they were leading the competition and seemed to be the favourite for the championship.
Those last two games weren't easy ones though. The next game was making the entire team nervous, since they had to play the team they had also met during preparation, the team that had given Beca a concussion. Luckily this meeting was a home game, so at least the umpires would be impartial. That didn't mean that it was going to be easy, so they trained hard and prepared well.
The night before the game Chloe had asked Beca to come over to talk with her. Beca arrived to see Aubrey and Dawson also present. She knew what this was going to be about. Of course she was nervous about facing this team again, but she had already decided for herself that she wouldn't let them scare her. They had a championship to win.
She sat down, took the drink Chloe offered her and looked at the three older women sitting in front of her. Aubrey talked first.
"I trust you know what this is about. We talked to Coach Smith as well, and thought that it might be safer for you to sit this one out. They targeted you last time and there is no reason it will be different this time. We would like to keep you fit for the last game."
Beca almost interrupted her to protest. "Dude, no, I'm not going to let them scare me. I can handle it, we played worse teams already, so I can handle it. If you take me out, they're are already ahead."
Chloe and Dawson nodded in agreement, but Aubrey didn't seem convinced. She didn't get a chance to respond, because Dawson turned to her.
"If Beca wants to play, we can't exactly stop her. She is right in that the entire team is better capable of handling more physical challenges, we have been training on that. If everybody is alert, we can beat them together. If it does seem too dangerous, we can always pull Beca out."
This seemed convincing enough to Aubrey. Dawson got up to leave and Chloe sat down in Beca's lap. She put her arms around Beca's neck and looked her in the eyes. She seemed quite worried.
"You don't have to do this for the team," she said, making sure Beca was listening to her. "If you do change your mind, you can step out at any time, everybody will understand. We just want you to be safe."
Beca assured Chloe that she would be. She was touched that everybody, even Aubrey, was looking out for her. She trusted these girls, and had no doubt that they would protect her, on and off the field, so she wasn't too scared. If they worked together, they were untouchable.
Beca slept at home, Aubrey didn't allow her to sleep over the night before a game. She did not sleep too well, her dreams were haunted by the memories of the last encounter with this team. She was a bit nervous, but didn't want to let that get to her.
As soon as she stepped on the field, Chloe was there, laying a soothing hand on her back and trying to relax her. This helped her tremendously, so she was able to shoot a few good flicks in the preparation. This gave her some confidence for the game. She tried to refrain from looking at the other team while they prepared, as this would only ruin her focus.
They went back to the changing rooms after the preparation and Aubrey talked to the team. She managed to get everybody focussed, and prepared them for the physical game that was coming. The coaches explained the game plan and instructed the team to look out for each other. They had to fight this battle together.
The team stepped on the field confidently. Their opponents were looking fierce, bordering on vindictive. Barden huddled at the top of the circle and Aubrey gave them some last words of encouragement. The girls spread out over the field and Stacy walked up to the ball that was currently at the center of the field.
When Stacy shot the ball back towards Chloe, their opponents immediately ran forward. They put on high pressure and pushed their way through to the ball. They managed to get a shot away early on, but Cynthia Rose successfully turned the effort around. As soon as Barden had the ball back, Beca heard Aubrey yell at her team. They were playing timidly, exactly the opposite of what they were supposed to be doing.
Aubrey managed to run the ball up to midfield herself, avoiding some aggressive tackles in the process. She played the ball at Chloe, who was inspired by the way Aubrey was playing. She ran the ball up to the edge of the circle before winning the foul. Aubrey stepped up to take the free hit and played it to Beca near the right sideline. She passed to Lilly, who got the ball into the circle. The ball hit a foot and the umpires signalled for a penalty corner.
Barden huddled at the top of the circle, but they didn't have to deliberate long. Beca was going to go for the direct flick. Before she lined up, she felt Chloe give her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. She looked at the girls lined up in the goal. She recognized the girl that had tackled her the previous time, but decided not to be intimidated by the scowl on her face. Scoring would shut them up.
Chloe's injection was slow and it seemed like an eternity before it reached Stacy's stick. Beca saw the first runner heading her way like a bulldozer. She wouldn't have enough time to get a decent shot away and step aside to avoid the tackle. She tried to drag the ball anyway, but wasn't focussed on the ball. It slid of her stick early and flew to her right. She saw the girl closing in on her in her peripheral vision and braced for the impact.
It never came. When she looked up, she saw Aubrey lying on the floor. She seemed to be in pain, but was getting up nevertheless. The other girl was knocked to the side, but was fine. Aubrey had managed to block her and get her away from Beca. Beca ran up to her captain and helped her up. Aubrey ensured her that she was fine when Beca asked her, but stepped off the field after instructing Beca to score.
They had received a new penalty corner for the tackle, so Beca collected all the girls at the top of the circle. All girls looked worried, but Beca was feeling confident. She told Chloe to inject to her again. Everybody took their position. When Beca nodded, Chloe injected the ball towards her as fast as she could. This gave Beca more time to shoot the ball. She dragged the ball and gave it some height. The ball flew of her stick heading for the goal.
The sound of the ball hitting the underside of the knee was painful to listen to. The girl that had been storming towards Beca screamed and fell down while holding her knee. She was in a lot of pain and tears were streaming down her face. Her teammates surrounded her and her coach immediately ran onto the field. She had to be carried off and was taken to the hospital.
Barden was awarded a third penalty corner, since it was technically shoot, so a foul by the defence. Beca lined up again and this times the roles were reversed. Her opponents looked scared. She again received a perfect injection from Chloe and fired the ball into the net. None of the runners were even near her when she released the ball.
Beca pumped her fist into the air and during all of the celebrations felt a familiar body against hers. Chloe gave her a kiss on the cheek before releasing her. They walked back to their side of the field together. Beca saw Aubrey celebrating on the sideline. She seemed fine and ready to come back on.
From that moment on the game was theirs. Their opponents couldn't even pass midfield, let alone get a ball into the circle. Barden was firing away and was up five goals by half time. Aubrey was indeed fine and playing an amazing game after coming back on. When they reached double figure in the second half, she even threw her hands up in celebration and hugged Amy.
Their 11-0 victory would not be forgotten quickly, it was the biggest victory in Barden history. The men's team also had a home game, so they already had an audience during the first half, but news about the ongoing slaughtering had made its way across campus, so by the end of the game it seemed like half of Barden was cheering them on.
When they stepped off the field, the guys turned on the music. Everybody started dancing and cheering. The girls escaped to the quiet of the changing rooms. The coaches didn't have much to say, so they left quickly. Everybody was quiet for a moment, before Amy started clapping. Everybody joined in and soon they were all clapping and cheering. After a while the noise died down and everybody got into their shower routine.
They returned to the field just in time for the men's game. The guys did a good job and managed to get ahead early on in the game. They were still up by halftime and even extended the lead in the second half. Eventually they stepped off the field victorious as well. This completed the party.
Beca needed a bit of space, so she had walked away from the field after the guys had finished. She saw Aubrey approach her. Instead of her normal stern look, Aubrey looked relaxed and even happy. She was holding a beer, something Beca had not seen before.
"Thank you for protecting me in the field," Beca said. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I was just a bit shaken up, but it's fine. I just wanted to say how much satisfaction it gave me when you hit that bitch. You did a good job today, you kept your shit together and delivered."
"Thank you, you played great as well, you really stepped up as a captain."
At this, Aubrey approached her and gave her a short hug. She quickly stepped back, shot one more smile at Beca and walked away. She passed Chloe, who was now walking towards Beca.
"Did my eyes deceive me, or did Aubrey just hug you," Chloe said with a smirk.
"She may have been a bit intoxicated," Beca responded. "I'm not sure if she will remember this tomorrow.
"Oh, don't worry, Aubrey always remembers everything, it's quite creepy."
Chloe had closed the distance between them and put her hands around Beca's waist and pressed their lips together.
"I'm glad that you're okay. You really showed them. Although I normally do not condone hurting other people, she had it coming."
Beca smirked. She held onto Chloe and pulled her closer. She felt safe with her redhead captain, more so than ever before. She buried her face into Chloe's neck and melted into her embrace. This was just about the best feeling in the world.
A/N: I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in field hockey, you are not allowed to hit the ball with your foot, this foul is called a shoot.